The first Anglican bishop was consecrated and enthroned at the St Christopher’s Cathedral yesterday, marking a new milestone in the kingdom’s long history of religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
Bishop Sean Semple is also the first bishop of the diocese to be African by birth.
The service, which ‘marks the start of a fresh relationship’ between the leadership of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, rulers and religious and civic leaders, saw Bishop Sean being enthroned in a special seat at the front of the Cathedral, known as a cathedra. This symbolises him taking on the spiritual leadership and responsibility for the churches of the diocese.
Earlier in the day, Bishop Sean spoke at a Press conference at the Isa Cultural Centre, where he said he felt anxious about the big day but was prepared to take on the duty.
“As the bishop, I become responsible for all the clergy, people and churches in 10 countries from Cyprus to Bahrain, and I hope to work with them to promote peace, co existence and reconciliation,” he said.
“The consecration brings people together and allows people to learn from each other and in learning about one another, they often realise that the perception and the deep-seated beliefs they have had about each other were wrong,” he added.
Rev’d Sean was born in South Africa and holds a post-graduate degree in Spirituality and Clinical Psychology, and has ministered in South Africa, Cyprus and England.
According to him, the consecration offers an opportunity for new relationships to be forged and for the good work that is being done by the Christian community to be witnessed and affirmed.
“I chose to be consecrated in St Christopher’s Cathedral as there has never been a consecration of an Anglican bishop before,” he said, adding that the kingdom’s values of tolerance and co-existence also helped make his decision.
“This is my first visit to Bahrain, and I have seen how happy people are here. It’s amazing to see how the Anglican Christians feel respected to practise their religion freely as a minority in the country.”
Among those at the Press conference was Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East Primate Archbishop Hosam Naoum, an influential Palestinian Christian voice during the ongoing conflict in Gaza, who consecrated the oil used to anoint King Charles III at his coronation.
He told the GDN that the consecration came at a good timing, referring to the Arab Summit held in Bahrain last week, and hopes that such events help bring resolution to conflicts around the world, particularly the war in Gaza.
“The consecration is a momentous occasion and a joy that this happens in Bahrain and the Gulf,” he said. The service is usually seen in countries such as Cyprus, Jerusalem and England.
“With what I see, this is a moment where reconciliation and conflict resolution happens to be born,” he noted, adding that instead of the continuous violence being witnessed, there should be healing in the region instead.
“We have this amazing opportunity for the new Bishop to be born here in Bahrain and embody the importance of the Gulf countries,” he added.
The consecration was part of a five-day series of events which kicked off on Wednesday. Today, a Thanksgiving service will be held at the Awali Church at 9.30am, and the programme will end tomorrow with Bishop Sean’s first Confirmation service.
Established in 1976, the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of the three dioceses that make up the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The Anglican Communion is a family of 42 autonomous and independent-yet-interdependent national, pan-national and regional churches in communion with the ancient see of Canterbury. It currently has around 85 million members, active in more than 165 countries. It is the third largest Christian denomination in the world.
julia@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))